Measuring and keeping track of an individual's body weight can be part of a healthy lifestyle, as well as be necessary for various medical reasons, such as monitoring weight gain or loss for a recovering patient. Traditional scales include a rigid object, often in a rectangular of square shape, that relies on springs and gears to measure the distance the spring deforms under a load, which can then be displayed at a calculated weight. More modern scales use strain gauges or piezo-electric crystals, e.g., where a mechanical stress or deformation produces a change in electrical resistance or charge, to measure weight.
However, these scales are often bulky and cannot be easily transported in a compact manner. Additionally, it can be difficult to track and analyze a user's weight over a period of time while comparing weight values to the user's earlier measurements or to other individuals, such as within an online community, in an automated fashion, which may be particularly desirable for motivational reasons.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the challenges noted above.